May 20, 2012

A four game win streak had some Twins fans hoping for a 3 game sweep of the Brewers if our boys could pull off just one more game today. Okay, I was hoping for a sweep and probably jinxed them in the process. Uff da ya, did I jinx them: Brewers 16, Twins 4. Oh well.

Yes, I know that taking two from the mediocre Tigers and two from the even worse Brewers is nothing to write home about, but this is a season in which we must be allowed our simple pleasures from whatever morsels come our way. So let's take a moment and count the morsels.

Trevor Plouffe, who has really struggled badly at the plate so far this year, managed three home runs in the four game streak. Josh Hamilton he is not, but it's good to see him smack the ball around some.

Decent starts from P.J. Walters, Scott Diamond, and a gimpy Carl Pavano. We shall not speak about Nick Blackburn and Jason Marquis. If there is one thing I wish for the Twins this year it's to see the rotation of the future start to come together and a stake put through the notion that Blackburn and Liriano can ever be counted on to be consistent starters. They can either put in some quality innings in the bullpen or get dumped for whatever the Twins can get. And if pitching coach Rick Anderson can't figure that out then it's time for him to hit the road too.

35 runs in five games? Just feel good about that boys, and try to build on it.

Despite some confusion as far as who is playing what in the infield, the Twins are a decent fielding team being sixth in fielding percentage and turning the second most double plays at this point. There's room for improvement, but they're not sucking in that category.

Slim pickings, I know. Maybe a glimmer of something to build on though.

April 23, 2012

This wonderfully sunny Monday finds the week-long battle against my head cold all but over. The critical day was Thursday, when I was able to beat back its attempt to settle in my chest. Yesterday was the somewhat ghastly clearing of the sinuses and today I have just a few sniffles left. It's good to be able to smell the spring air again. Now if I could only get used to this daily shaving thing.

We've had good rainfall here that last few weeks and after our extremely dry winter that's good news. The timing hasn't been the greatest though. This weekend was once again pretty much a washout for getting stuff done in the yard. I should be able to get a few hours in this evening and tomorrow before the rains return.

John Huntsman(Sore Loser-Utah) is whining about the GOP again. After losing the GOP base with the brilliant strategy of disagreeing while being disagreeable, the ever arrogant and entitled-feeling Huntsman is shocked, shocked!, that the GOP shunned him for calling for a third party to go against, at least in part, the GOP. The man is so self-absorbed that he cannot even grasp the consequences of his own actions.

And Huntsman can spare us the regurgitation of this stupid meme that's going around that Ronald Reagan couldn't get the GOP nomination today. If he truly believes that, he can start by showing me the page in Reagan's playbook where he wins the nomination by telling the base essentially to "shut up you stupid gits." Then he can show us how Reagan would love a federal government that feels entitled to dictate to us even to the point of telling us the kinds of light bulbs we can or cannot buy. Good luck with that. Finally, Reagan would be horrified at a Democratic party that has gone far beyond assuring a societal safety net and now openly espouses redistribution of wealth. He would be pounding Democrats with that far harder than Romney or Huntsman ever will. Don't kid yourself otherwise.

Over the weekend I read this depressing piece on the Trayvon Martin case from a man named Mansfield Frazier(via Bob Owens). Apparently Frazier has convicted George Zimmerman in the court of his mind and now, "The paramount concern has to be to avert a large-scale racial calamity." Frazier goes on to urge Zimmerman's attorney to arrange a plea bargain that would see Zimmerman back on the street within eight years. Otherwise:

"America can only dodge so many racial bullets, and a not-guilty verdict in this case could very easily turn the racial cold war into a very hot one."

Given Frazier's mention of the Rodney King riots it's not difficult to see what he means here. Anything less than jail time for Zimmerman at this point means rioting in the streets. Is that just an accurate reading of the situation or a threat? I don't know. It may be both. I've seen enough threats of violence on the web not to discount it.

This spring has already seen a small group of black young people attack passersby(white?) half a dozen times in downtown Minneapolis, culminating in some arrests after increased police patrols. So called "flash mobs" have also been on the rise across the country. My gut tells me that our urban black underclass was getting primed to explode even before the Martin killing. I can't believe that has made things any better.

Regardless, it's depressing to see someone like Frazier warn of a mob and then declare it must be appeased, or else. Whether Zimmerman decides to take a plea, is found guilty, or is acquitted, it is no matter to me as long as the system is allowed to work without threats of violence.

The Twins return home tonight against Boston. They managed a 2-2 split in New York and avoided a sweep in Tampa Bay over the weekend. Not bad as far as I'm concerned. I figured they had a good chance of going 0-7. And since I've been ragging on the $23 million/year man for his pathetic 2011 effort, it's only fair to note that Joe Mauer has played in all 16 games so far this season. He's not putting up $23 million/year numbers just yet, but the first step is just being there. Credit where due.

A just missed weekend for Gopher baseball on the road at Michigan State. They went 1-2 with both losses coming in extra innings. The series win earned Michigan St. a tie with the Gophers for second in the Big Ten.

March 23, 2012

I guess it was Tsuyoshi Nishioka haiku night on Twitter a couple of nights ago and I missed it. Probably in celebration of Nishi being sent down to Triple-A Rochester on Monday. Of all of the cursed moves in the off season leading to 2011, bringing Nishioka over from Japan has to be the worst. Tom Powers sums up why at the link:

I don't know how he did in grade school back in Japan, but he earned a big fat "F" from the Twins in Baseball Basics. And that's despite a battery of tutors. No instruction ever seemed to stick with him and, as a result, this whole experiment has turned out to be an expensive disaster.

I was astonished when he started last year by standing flat-footed on second base during a double play and getting his leg broken for his error. I blamed the Twins' coaches for that fiasco because they obviously didn't work with him enough in spring training.

Oops. Sorry about that guys. I was working under the assumption that anybody the Twins would pay $9 million to over three years would be teachable.

Now that that walking disaster is off the radar for now, maybe it's time to take a closer look at how things are shaping up down in Ft. Myers. Maybe more on that this weekend, and my own Nishi Haiku if I get a minute.

March 06, 2012

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood today. I went out for a walk at noon and the sun was shining brightly and the air temp was approaching 50. Since the sun is high enough in the sky now, it and the temp are doing a number on our meager snowpack. This bothers me not in the least.

This time of year also brings baseball and spring training back into the news. I've decided to end my little snit with the Minnesota Twins and start paying attention again. I realize their decision to end the Sunday broadcasts TV games was just business, but that's the problem in my book. The "business" side stretched my "fan" side past the breaking point last year and it snapped. I don't think I'll ever quite be the fan I used to be. Oh, I'll follow them and maybe even get a little excited here and there, for better or worse. I'll even shell out some money and take my nephew to a game when he comes to visit next month. But I don't expect that going to games will become a regular event this year. Good seats are about twice as expensive as they were at the Metrodome and I just have other things to spend that kind of money on. Nothing personal, just business.

So are they going to do better than the 99 losses from last year? Probably, though the initial take on what the 25-man roster might look like that can be found here does not exactly make that a no-brainer. There are big questions around the team that need to be answered this spring and they are pretty obvious to everyone up here. I'll probably look at each in depth the next couple of weeks, but here are the short versions.

Will the M and M boys(Mauer and Morneau) stage a comeback this year? Last year was a miserable failure for both of them due to health issues. Both are healthy this spring, but both carry doubts about their durability. Both men are being paid to be the nucleus of the team and they need to stand up and be that this year or the Twins are going to have to come up with a new nucleus. What they do with Mauer and his $23 million/yr contract in that situation I have no idea.

How will the rotation hold up? Pavano chewed up a lot of innings for the Twins last year. Hopefully he can do the same again this year. The rest of the crew? The Twins picked up Jason Marquis and he got shelled in his first spring start for the Twins the other day. It's early, I guess. As for Liriano, Baker, and Blackburn, maybe this will be the year they show the discipline and consistency to be real major league stars. Hahaha...sorry, lost my head for a second there.

Even if the starting rotation holds up, will they have a solid infield defense behind them? Once again, the Twins have big question marks at shortstop and second base. My confidence in Casilla and Nishioka is pretty much zero at this point. I haven't read up enough on Jamey Carroll to express an opinion yet. Maybe they will gel into a solid group. See? I can be polite.

I have other questions, but I need to do some research to form them properly. My overall opinion is pessimistic for this year, but we'll see what develops as the spring goes by.